Bannockburn residents support SHA River Rd. plan, but want speed cameras

It was a case of democracy in action last night at Walt Whitman High School. About 250 residents, almost entirely from the Bannockburn neighborhood, turned out to weigh in on the Maryland State Highway Administration's latest proposed fix for the River Road intersection where 3 people died in a horrific crash just over two years ago. It was the largest turnout yet since community leaders began holding meetings to discuss how to improve safety at both the vehicular intersection with Braeburn Parkway and the crosswalk at Pyle Road along River.

The crowd was not fully satisfied with SHA's two-component plan: make the temporary turn restrictions permanent with concrete curbs at Braeburn, and add a pedestrian-activated traffic signal to the crosswalk at Pyle Road. However, there was a strong sentiment that the pursuit of something better shouldn't prevent obtaining the benefits of the SHA project as soon as possible.

Ultimately, after a series of votes, attendees fully endorsed the SHA plan for the Pyle crosswalk signal. They voted down a straight endorsement of the SHA's Braeburn part of the project. Instead, by near-acclimation, the crowd voted for an "enhanced" version of that, which would still have the proposed concrete curbs, but also the designation of that stretch of River as a "school zone," which would permit the use of speed cameras there.

A full traffic signal at Braeburn has been sought by Bannockburn residents for decades, but that idea has lost favor in recent months, with the realization that such a signal might generate more cut-through traffic in Bannockburn. SHA is expected to begin construction of their project later this year.